Top Level Domain for the Republic of Cascadia

What is a Top Level Domain?

Internet domain addresses are structured hierarchically. Each level of the address is separated by a period or "dot", with the right-most entity being the primary level or "top level domain" (TLD). Entities to the left are subdomains of decreasing dominance.

Familiar TLDs include .com, .org, .net, and .edu. There are also a large number of two-letter "country code" TLDs (ccTLD) -- nearly one for each country in the world. For instance, .tv is the ccTLD for the island nation of Tuvalu. (You can find a complete list of officially recognized ccTLDs here.) ccTLDs are under the administrative control of their eponymous nation, or an organization chosen by that country. They are the Internet equivalent of sovereign soil.

TLD Controversy

The assignment of TLDs has always been controversial, with those in power using their sway to shape the Root Zone in ways agreeable to their politics. An obvious example of this is the United States, which is unique in having three TLDs -- .gov, .mil, and the ccTLD .us -- whereas other nations are forced to use subdomains under their ccTLDs for their governmental and military needs.

ccTLDs have also been the center of disputes over sovereignty, such as when a ccTLD was created for then-occupied East Timor, leading to a cyberwar as Indonesia launched an attack on the Irish servers hosting the domain. Similarly, the creation of ccTLDs is used for propagandistic purposes, as evidenced by the non-existent country of Belgium having one (.be -- obviously overcompensating for their lack of actual beingness).

In particular, the occupational forces of the United States and Canada have been acting in collusion to keep the Republic of Cascadia from having a ccTLD. The Republic of Cascadia will not stand for this.

Why The Republic of Cascadia Needs A Country Code TLD

As a sovereign nation, the Republic of Cascadia deserves a proper domain of its own. This is not only a matter of national pride, but also one of control. As it stands, our enemies can use their positions to deny Cascadian sites subdomains under their TLDs. The creation of a Republic of Cascadia TLD will give Cascadians freedom to publish their views and conduct their businesses unhindered by foreign powers.

We propose that the new TLD for the Republic of Cascadia should be .rc. We urge the Internet Assigned Number Authority and other relevant bodies to ignore our enemies and act now to rectify the grievous oversight of the lack of this ccTLD. For all cybercitizens who wish to promote this just cause, please consider placing the following promotional webbutton on your site: